The Drive-In of Doom, with the Funky Phantom!
by WileE2005
Summary: Mystery Inc. is going to a drive-in movie theater, but there's a Reptilian Beast prowling around and scaring moviegoers away, so once again it's another mystery. But then the gang runs into another certain mystery-solving group of teens, with an actual ghost as their friend! Now they have to work together in capturing the monster and saving the drive-in...


**SCOOBY-DOO: THE DRIVE-IN OF DOOM**

With THE FUNKY PHANTOM!

By WileE2005

DISCLAIMER: Scooby-Doo and the Funky Phantom are both trademarks of and are copyrighted to Warner Bros. Entertainment. This is simply a work of fanfiction and has no connection to the _Scooby-Doo: Mystery Incorporated _episode "Mystery Solver State Club Finals."

At the Moonview Drive-In Theater, patrons were in their cars watching a cheesy-looking B-movie: _Return of the Teenage Werebear. _They were eating concessions and drinking soda, getting really engrossed into the horror film. But over at the concession building/projection booth, no one seemed to notice a Reptilian Beast poke out from the side of the wall. He had a green scaly body, yellow claws on his hands, a long lizard-like tail, and a head with a dinosaur-like snout, with rows of sharp white fangs. He let out a gruff chuckle, and then ran into the lot where all the cars were. He looked straight into the windshield of one car, and the teenage couple in it screamed. Then the Reptilian did the same with another car, until numerous people started screaming. Several of them quickly put their speakers back on the posts, started their cars, and drove out of the drive-in as quick as they could. The Reptilian Beast let out another snarl…

…

The next day, Mystery Inc. was driving the Mystery Machine on a stretch of road with minimal buildings and businesses.

"Gee," Velma said glumly. "No mysteries to solve for almost a month."

"Yeah," Fred agreed. "Nothing supernatural ever happens around here anymore. The only bad guys left are regular old robbers and criminals that the police deal with themselves."

Daphne nodded. "I guess crooks have been wising up to our business in catching fake ghosts and monsters and have dropped the act."

"Well I don't know about you guys," Shaggy said with a grin, "but Scoob and I couldn't be happier!"

His dog Scooby-Doo quickly nodded in agreement. "Ryeah-ryeah-ryeah-ryeah-ryeah!"

"At least on the plus side," Velma pointed out, "Shaggy and Scooby have never felt better!"

"Yeah," Shaggy agreed. "Like no spooky old ghosts or monsters to frighten us!" He let out his distinctive chuckle.

"Ryeah! Ee-HEE-hee-hee-hee-hee-hee!" Scooby did his distinctive laugh as well.

"Gosh," Fred said, "I don't know what else we can do right now. We've been driving around aimlessly for a couple of days. We haven't even read any newspapers or anything since then!"

"That's probably why we've been driving around aimlessly," Daphne pointed out.

But then the Moonview Drive-In came into view. "Hey gang, look!" Fred said, perking up. "A drive-in movie theater! It's been a long time since we went to one of those. How about we go there this evening?"

"What a groovy idea!" Velma agreed. "A drive-in right in our area sounds like so much fun! We can stop there now and see what movies are playing tonight."

Shaggy and Scooby's eyes widened in delight. "Like, where's there's a drive-in theater, there's a concession building. And where there's a concession building, there's lots of good food! Popcorn, hot dogs, ice cream, candy, soft drinks…" he listed off. Scooby let out a delighted sound and licked his lips as Shaggy spoke.

"Yeah," Fred told them, "but the theater doesn't open until sunset, and we've got a couple hours to go. But we can go to the ticket office and see what movies are playing!"

So, Fred turned the Mystery Machine into the Moonview Drive-In entrance. But the female cashier there looked panicked. "Sorry folks, you have to turn back! Something really weird is happening."

Fred, Daphne and Velma all gasped in delight. "Weird?" Velma asked. "Tell us more!"

"Oh no," Shaggy moaned. "I knew it was too good to be true!" 

"Ruh-roh!" Scooby agreed.

The cashier told the gang, "A Reptilian Beast has been haunting the drive-in! He showed up last night and scared away the patrons. Even the staff was nervous!"

"Reptilian Beast?!" Shaggy asked in fear. "Zoinks!"

"Jeepers!" Daphne said. "This is something we could investigate!"

"Is the owner of the theater in right now?" Fred asked the cashier.

"As a matter of fact, yes," the cashier said. "He's in a meeting right now with someone, but you can come in. His office is in the concession building."

"Yes!" Shaggy jumped with joy, no longer afraid. "The concession building!"

Scooby was also ecstatic. "Roh boy!"

"Hold on there," the cashier lady said. "The concession stand isn't open yet. Matter of fact, we're not sure if we're going to be open tonight, what with that beast going around. In fact, I don't know how much longer this drive-in will be around!"

"You can count on us to get to the bottom of things," Fred said. Then he turned to the rest of the gang and said, "Well, gang, it looks like we FINALLY have a mystery on our hands once again!"

"Yayyyy!" Daphne and Velma cheered.

"Booooo!" Shaggy and Scooby booed, to which the others glared at the two, both of whom gave sheepish grins.

So, Fred pulled into the theater lot, unaware of the dune buggy labeled "The Looney Duney" on its' side starting to turn into the Drive-In entrance with two teenage boys, a girl and their yellow bulldog…

…

A little while later, in the Moonview Drive-In concession building, the gang stood outside the owner's office, an older gray-haired gentleman, whom was talking with some kind of businessman in a dark-blue suit with a black briefcase.

"I'll let you know with my decision by the end of the week," the owner told the businessman, whom left the office, gave a quick glance at the gang, and walked out of the building.

"Excuse me, sir," Fred said to the owner as he and the others entered the office, "I understand you're having some kind of problem?"

"Why, yes," the owner said. "I'm Benny, the owner, manager and operator of the Moonview Drive-In Theater. But I'm not sure how much longer I'll be doing this."

"Why not?" Daphne asked.

"It's because of that Reptilian Beast," Benny explained. "I was told of some crazy legend about how the land this drive-in is built on was once the home of the Beast. But I doubt it's true…"

"Who told you?" Fred asked.

"Why, it was Mr. Soylo, the real-estate representative I was just talking with," Benny revealed.

"Real-estate, huh?" Velma said, thinking for a second. "I bet he wants to buy the drive-in theater so he can tear it down!"

Benny did a double take. "How did you know that?"

"Oh, we have a bit of experience and knowledge on real-estate agents," Velma explained.

"Plus," Daphne added, "I've heard many drive-in theaters have been closing across the country and are often razed."

"And the Moonview may soon be one of those," Benny glumly said. "I've always been doing good business, but that Mr. Soylo is convincing me to sell to him, so he can tear the place down and put in a residential development."

"Like, a residential development is so boring compared to a drive-in theater!" Shaggy complained.

"But why would a Reptilian Beast want to scare people away from what was supposedly his land?" Daphne asked.

"Because he wants to have the whole area to himself again," Shaggy figured.

"Ryeah!" Scooby agreed. "Rat Reptilian Reast's home!"

"Well, with the Reptilian Beast around," Benny said, "fewer people may want to come to the drive-in. Sure, we show horror movies, but people don't want a real monster terrorizing them as they watch the movie!"

"And eat the snacks," Shaggy added.

"Rmmm-rmm!" Scooby said, rubbing his belly in delight and slurping his tongue.

"Well Benny," Fred said, "I think I have a hunch. Is it all right if the gang and I do some investigating around the premises?"

"Why, of course," Benny said. Then he pointed to Shaggy and Scooby, "And you two, don't eat any of the concessions or ingredients. Wait until we're open this evening to buy some."

"Sure thing!" Shaggy grinned. Scooby nodded in agreement. Then the gang left the office.

…

The Scooby gang was already investigating the entire drive-in theater a bit, checking on the lot area…

"Like, look how wide open this area is," Shaggy noted. "We can see that Reptilian Beast from a distance and get away before he gets near!" He let out his usual nervous chuckle.

But then the three teenagers from the dune buggy approached them; there was the brawny dark-haired Augie, skinny redhead Skip, and blonde beauty April. With them was a small yellow bulldog, Elmo.

"Hey, what are you guys doing here?" Augie asked.

"I'm sorry," Fred explained, "we happen to be here to solve a case."

"Well, so are we," Augie said.

Fred chuckled, "Well you know, this is a free country, and we're here to go to work."

"Well," Augie explained, "we've been able to uncover most of the recent so-called 'supernatural' cases going on."

"That explains why my gang wasn't getting any work for a while!" Fred realized.

"Stop it, you two!" April tried breaking up the argument.

"Yes," Velma agreed, "as long as we're both here, why don't we try to work on this case together?"

"Hey," Skip said, "I like that idea!"

"Like, me too!" Shaggy agreed.

"All right," Fred said, shaking his hand, "I'm sure we'll make a great team. My name's Fred. Let me introduce you to the rest of the gang." He gestured to the others. "This here's Daphne, Velma, Shaggy, and of course our dog Scooby-Doo."

"Rello," Scooby said, waving his paw.

"Wow, he can talk!" Skip was surprised.

"Ryup! Ee-HEE-hee-hee-hee-hee-hee!" Scooby snickered.

"Nice to meet you, guys," Augie said. "I'm Augie, and this is April and Skip, and our dog Elmo."

Elmo and Scooby both sniffed each other a bit.

But then a voice rang out of nowhere. "Heavens to expies! What about _me_?"

Scooby let out a yelp and leaped into Shaggy's arms, and they both began shivering.

"Like, w-w-what was that voice?" Shaggy nervously asked.

Skip turned to Augie. "If we're all going to work together, we might as well reveal him," he told Augie, and then appeared to call out to nowhere "OK Mudsy, you can show yourself!"

"Mudsy?" Daphne asked.

Suddenly a white ghostly figure materialized out of thin air; he looked like a colonial from the American Revolution, but he was all white.

"Jonathan Wellington Muddlemore, or 'Mudsy' even, at your service!" the ghost said, extending out his hand.

But Shaggy screamed "ZOINKS! A g-g-g-g-g-GHOOOOST!" He and Scooby started running for the Mystery Machine, moaning in fear.

"Jinkies!" Velma exclaimed. "A free-floating spectral apparition. A real one!"

"Huh?" Mudsy asked, appearing puzzled.

"A real ghost," Velma explained. "We've captured so many fake ghosts, it's amazing to see a real one for a change!"

Daphne was skeptical. "But how do we know you're a real ghost?" she asked.

"Observe, my lady," Mudsy said, and started floating around the gang in circles. Then he stood back down, pulled off his head and rolled it around his arms like a basketball, followed by separating his torso from his legs and putting his head between them." "Can a fake ghost, an illusion even, be capable of this?" he asked the Mystery Inc. gang.

"I guess not," Daphne concluded.

"And I'm not alone," Mudsy added, to which a white ghostly cat wearing a revolutionary hat with a red feather materialized into view. "This here is Boo, my fellow feline, a cat even!" Mudsy said, introducing the Mystery Inc. gang to the cat ghost.

After grinning and tipping his hat, Boo zipped over in a beam of light to the Mystery Machine and opened the back doors, where Shaggy and Scooby were trembling in fear. Boo gave a Cheshire Cat-esque grin at Scooby and hissed. To which Scooby began barking angrily, but Boo disappeared from view, causing Scooby to let out a "Yowp!" and cover his eyes in fear as he resumed chattering his teeth. Boo then reappeared on Scooby's back and began tugging on his collar. Scooby yelped again and started running, with Boo waving and whooping it up like an excited cowboy riding horseback.

Shaggy watched what happened. "Scooby! I'm coming, old pal!" He ran after Scooby and Boo.

Scooby and Shaggy skidded to a halt among getting back to the others. It was then when Boo dematerialized off of Scooby and reappeared sitting on Mudsy's hat.

"Oh tut, tut," Mudsy said. "I'm a good ghost. A friendly ghost, even! I don't like being bad!"

Shaggy gulped. "Well… OK, if you say so. Perhaps Scoob and I can get used to a friendly ghost."

But Scooby gave a single bark up at Boo, whom just snickered.

Daphne was surprised. "Wow, for a ghost, Mudsy sounds like he has the voice of a cartoon lion or something…"

"OK," Fred said, "let's split up and search for clues. Velma, Shaggy and Scooby, you look around the screen. Augie, April, Mudsy and Elmo, you look throughout the lot area. Skip, Daphne and I will look in the concession building."

"Aw, but Fred…" Shaggy started to say.

"If I sent you and Scooby into the concession building," Fred said, "you two would be distracted by the food instead of the mystery!"

…

A short while later, Augie, April, Mudsy, Boo and Elmo had been searching around the car lot area, but so far, nothing but the speaker poles and some little on the ground.

"There's nothing to find here but trash," Augie complained.

"We just need to look really closely," April told him.

But then they heard an animal-like roar. Mudsy got scared. "Heavens to Bunyans!" he exclaimed. "It sounds like a beast! The Reptilian Beast, even!" He and Boo quickly disappeared.

"It is!" Augie pointed out. Sure enough, at one end of the lot was the Reptilian Beast, letting out a snarl. Then he began running towards the screen area, apparently not having noticed the two teens and bulldog.

April got nervous. "Say, isn't Velma, Shaggy and Scooby looking behind the screen?"

"They're in danger," Augie said. "We've got to warn them, and fast!"

Mudsy suddenly reappeared. "I'll get a head-start, and you three can start running toward the screen!" he instructed, before disappearing again. Then April, Augie and Elmo ran to the screen structure.

Over at that end, the tall towering drive-in theater screen sat on a low, long concrete building. Velma, Shaggy and Scooby were looking at a doorway in the back of the building.

"Look at this door," Velma said. "This is probably where storage for the drive-in is located, like spare speakers and such. Maybe there's a clue in here."

"Well, we're still a little early in the mystery, aren't we?" Shaggy suggested. "We usually don't find anything until after… Zoinks!"

Sure enough, Mudsy and Boo materialized in front of them. "Run!" Mudsy warned the three. "The Reptilian Beast is coming towards here! After you three, even!"

"Oh no!" Shaggy panicked. "Like, run!"

Shaggy and Scooby started to take off, but the Reptilian Beast leaped out in front of them and hissed.

"Ryipe!" Scooby yelped, leaping into Shaggy's arms.

"Double yipe!" Shaggy agreed, and they both started running the opposite direction, with Velma accompanying them, and the Reptilian Beast close behind.

Augie, April and Elmo approached them, but started to turn back among seeing Velma, Shaggy, Scooby, Mudsy and Boo running from the Reptilian Beast.

"To the concession building!" Augie cried out, and they hurried over there, through the doorway, and they ended up colliding with Fred, Daphne and Skip.

As they were all sitting on the ground from the impact, Skip glared at Augie and asked, "What's the idea, Mr. Muscles?"

"We saw the Reptilian Beast," Augie reported.

"He had sharp teeth and greenish skin," Mudsy added. "Scales, even!"

"Where'd you see him?" Fred demanded.

"Near the storage building under the screen," Velma said.

"Well, gang," Fred announced, "let's go back there and see if we can find something."

Shaggy gulped. "Like, why do we always have to go back to places the monsters and ghosts show up at?"

"You're telling me!" Mudsy claimed.

"A ghost afraid of ghosts and monsters?" Daphne couldn't believe it. "What a world…"

"Roh rother!" Scooby said, rolling his eyes.

…

The team headed back over to the drive-in screen. Fred was able to open the door that led to inside the storage building the screen was set on top of. "Good thing this door is already unlocked," Fred noted.

"Yeah," Skip added. "I'm not sure what Benny would think about us snooping in there."

"Fred," April started, "do you think Benny could be trying to sabotage the success of his own drive-in theater?"

"That wouldn't make any sense," Daphne pointed out. "But we do have a couple other suspects so far…"

Inside the storage building, there were empty boxes, old speakers, spare lumber and a few assorted tools and wire. They glanced around a bit, looking for something out of the ordinary. Sure enough, Skip noticed something unusual.

"Hey, look what I found!" Skip exclaimed and walked over to a black duffel bag with the zipper open.

"A clue!" Velma pointed out.

"It's a duffel bag," Skip noted, "but it looks like it was just put in here today. And there's a navy-blue dress jacket and pants in here, too!"

"Heavens to Jefferson," Mudsy exclaimed. "Why would someone leave perfectly-good dress clothes in a storage utility?"

Velma examined the duffel bag. "And the bag and contents have virtually no dust on them, while the other things in here have a fairly thin layer." She rubbed a tiny bit of dust off an old drive-in speaker sitting on a shelf, showing a clean spot where her finger was. "This must've been put in here today."

As Elmo put his front right paw to his chin and started pondering, Boo leaped down on Elmo, picked up the bulldog and began carrying him through the air to get a closer look at the duffel bag! But right after Boo snickered, Scooby began snarling and barking at the ghost cat, whom quickly put Elmo back down. The yellow dog dashed right back to Augie, looking somewhat distressed.

As Velma started to put the bag back down, a small business card came out of the bag and landed at Daphne's feet.

"And look at this business card," Daphne said, picking it up and examining it.

"Let me see it!" Velma said as he snatched the card out of Daphne's hands and looked it over. "I think I've solved the mystery!"

April beamed. "Now to come up with a plan," she said.

"Well," Fred countered, "I was coming up with a plan myself to catch the Beast."

"But ours involves Mudsy scaring the Beast," April pointed out.

"Wait!" Skip said. "Why don't we combine both of our plans into one?"

"I'm all up for it, you know!" Mudsy said.

"That sounds like a great idea," Fred grinned. "Let's go talk to Benny."

"Boo and I'll tune out on this one," Mudsy said, and he and his cat disappeared.

"We can discuss our trap along the way to the office," April said, "and then fill Mudsy in on what we'll be doing."

…

The sun was setting, and cars were pulling into the Moonview Drive-In Theater, their occupants placing the speakers onto their windows and then getting out to go to the concession building. The Mystery Machine and the Looney Duney were parked next to each other with speakers in their windows as well. The screen was already glowing with trailers and advertisements.

Fred turned to face the Looney Duney from out the drivers' window. "I'm glad we were able to convince Benny to leave the drive-in open tonight," he told the teens and their dog in the dune buggy. "It's sure to make our plan to catch the Reptilian Beast even more convincing!"

"Oh yes," Augie said. "And we get to enjoy a double-feature in the process!"

Sure enough, an advertisement came on the screen for their concessions; an announcer said, "There's plenty of time to treat yourself to something good to eat at our refreshment center!" as the spiel was written out on screen, accompanied by a cartoon drawing of a man with such refreshments.

Shaggy and Scooby's eyes lit up from the back of the van. "Like, that's our cue to finally get some refreshments from the concession building," Shaggy said with a big grin.

"Roh boy!" Scooby said, rubbing his tummy and licking his lips once again.

Shaggy leaned over to Fred, Daphne and Velma. "Do you three want anything as well?"

Fred smiled. "I guess a large buttered popcorn, Choco Buddy bar and diet soda for each of us wouldn't hurt," he said.

"Roh-kay!" Scooby eagerly said as he and Shaggy left the van through the back doors. Skip accompanied them to buy some snacks and drinks for his group as well.

At the Looney Duney, Augie grinned at April and said, "Isn't it groovy how Benny let us, and the Mystery Machine crew, come into the show for free as part of our plan to get the Reptilian Beast?"

"For sure," April beamed. "Seeing a movie at a drive-in theater is quite an experience!"

Mudsy and Boo both materialized in the back seat. "Who'da thunk it," he said, "that people could watch movies outdoors in their cars? In dune buggies, even! What's the advantage?"

"Well," Augie explained as he and April turned back to their phantom friends, "we can enjoy the movie without people we don't know disturbing us, the comfort of watching the movies in our cars, and…" He slyly eyed April. "Drive-ins can make for a very romantic mood…" He raised his eyebrows.

April chuckled. "I can see that, Augie," she said. "But remember, we also have to keep an eye out for that Reptilian Beast so we can put our plan into action."

Boo decided to sit next to Elmo to watch the upcoming film. The bulldog stuck his tongue out at Boo, but the ghost cat let out a quick sharp hiss.

In the Mystery Machine, Fred, Daphne and Velma were watching the trailers and snack bar snipes while enjoying the atmosphere. Daphne let out a pleased sigh. "I forgot how almost magical watching movies at the drive-in could be," she said. "Being outdoors, the large bright screen, the starry sky… it's so different from an indoor movie theater or television!"

"Oh, yes," Fred agreed. "We also have the privacy and comfort of the Mystery Machine. But remember, we also have to catch that Reptilian Beast once he comes out."

Shaggy and Scooby-Doo walked back to the Mystery Machine with the refreshments. Shaggy carried a cardboard tray with three large tubs of hot buttered popcorn, jumbo-size chocolate bars and large soft drink cups for Fred, Daphne and Velma. Behind him, Scooby was carrying a large sizable pile of snacks, including four large tubs of buttered popcorn, four hot dogs, four burgers, some nachos with cheese, several boxes of candy, several bags of chips, and four large soft drink cups. Of course, he and Shaggy would be sharing this pile, so Scooby was acting like a good dog and waiting until they were back in the van to start eating, since going to a drive-in theater was such a rare and special occasion.

Shaggy opened the back of the van, and he and Scooby stepped inside. "We're back with concessions!" he announced, "and I've got the stuff you wanted, Fred." He handed Fred, Daphne and Velma the tray of their refreshments.

"Thanks, Shag," Fred grinned, and he passed a popcorn tub, candy bar and soft drink each to Daphne and Velma. Meanwhile, Scooby and Shaggy both started to eat out of their first tubs of popcorn.

"Don't forget you and Scooby's part in catching the Reptilian Beast," Daphne reminded Shaggy.

"Like, no problem," Shaggy said, feeling a bit more confident. "Perhaps these snacks will get us ready!"

"Ryeah!" Scooby agreed as he tossed a piece of popcorn into his mouth, ate it in one bite, and did his distinctive laugh.

Velma chuckled. "I guess we don't even need to bribe them with Scooby Snacks this time!"

Shaggy and Scooby shook their heads. "Naw," Shaggy said. "This is a special case!"

A voice, presumably the projectionist, announced over the drive-in's P.A. system, "Movie starting. Return to cars. Concession stand will stay open throughout the film."

Meanwhile, Skip returned to the Looney Duney with popcorn tubs, candy boxes, chips and soft drinks for he and his friends. "Here come the snacks!" Skip announced.

"Did you get anything for Mudsy?" Augie asked.

"Heavens to concessions," Mudsy exclaimed, "Boo and I can't eat or drink anything because we're spirits, and they'd just go right through us. On the ground, even! But we don't mind."

"He's right," Skip said. "But I got enough for us." He got into the dune buggy, handed the others their snacks and drinks, and they began to eat.

On the screen, illustrations were shown featuring a man in a car accidentally pulling a speaker from the post while driving off, and then returning it to the ticket stand. An announcer said, "Be sure to remove the speaker before you leave. If you should accidentally pull a speaker loose, please turn it in at our snack bar or box office. Thank you." Then a colorful animated bumper with the words "FEATURE PRESENTATION" came on the screen, accompanied by funky music. The first movie was about to start. But way over at the concession building, the Reptilian Beast was lurking, waiting for the movie to begin as well…

…

A while later, it was well into the movie, an old horror film called _The Curse of the Monster_. As some teenage girl inside a creepy old house was grabbed by a hand coming out of a secret passage, she screamed. In the Mystery Machine, Scooby was shivering in fear as he and Shaggy were both sharing their second large tub of popcorn together. They were all wearing 3-D glasses, due to the film being in 3-D. Then a fake-looking sheet-like ghost swiped at a teenage boy running away in fear, and as the camera moved closer to the ghost, it swiped right at the lens, and the whole gang jumped at the resulting 3-D effect, but Scooby let out a frightened yelp and put his paws over his glasses.

"Like, Scoob, will you relax? Movie monsters aren't real! It's just 3-D!" Shaggy scolded his dog.

"Ryeah," Scooby nervously said. "Rut what about RIM?" He pointed at the windshield.

Sure enough, the Reptilian Beast had walked up to the Mystery Machine and let out an evil hiss.

"RIKES!" Scooby yelped, followed by Shaggy crying out "ZOINKS!" as they both huddled each other in terror.

"OK, gang," Fred announced, taking off his 3-D glasses and putting them in his pocket. "It's time to put our sure-fire plan into action!" He, Daphne and Velma leaped out of the van. Upon noticing Shaggy and Scooby weren't with them, he called "Shaggy, Scooby, are you coming?"

"Like, we're getting ready," Shaggy called out from inside the van. "Don't rush us!"

At the same time, Augie, Skip, April and Elmo jumped out of their dune buggy. "Now Mudsy," April instructed the funky phantom, "do you know what to do?"

"Of course, of course," Mudsy nervously said. "Let me and Boo take our places!" He and his cat then both dematerialized.

The Reptilian Beast continued going around the lot, scaring people in their cars, until half the drive-in was filled with screams of panic. Some people were rushing to put the speakers back on their posts, and a few already did so and were starting to leave. The Reptilian let out an evil raspy laugh.

But then Shaggy and Scooby-Doo ran up to the Reptilian Beast, wearing red old-fashioned usher outfits and hats and wielding flashlights. The Beast let out a confused "Huh?" type of sound.

"Like, I'm sorry, sir," Shaggy said, grabbing one of the Reptilian's clawed scaly hands. "But even though this is a drive-in, we wish you wouldn't bother other patrons. We'll have to take you back to your car!"

"Ryeah," Scooby said with a grin. "Rome with us!"

Shaggy and Scooby took the Reptilian Beast over to the Looney Duney and placed him in the drivers' seat.

"But we'll make it up to you," Shaggy added, "by giving you popcorn and soda on the house!" He handed the Beast one of the popcorn tubs and soft drinks that he and Scooby bought.

"Rhuh?" Scooby asked, looking a little perplexed.

Shaggy leaned over to his dog and whispered, "Don't worry, Scoob! We got plenty more of it in the van." Then he told the also perplexed-looking Reptilian Beast, "And don't forget that this is a 3-D movie, so here are your glasses!" And with that, Shaggy placed his pair of 3-D glasses over the Reptilian Beast's orange eyes.

The Reptilian Beast let out a snarl. He wasn't really enjoying this.

"Oh boy," Shaggy said as he turned to the screen, his voice much louder now, "here comes the best part of the movie!" It almost sounded as if he rehearsed that phrase.

That was when Mudsy materialized onto the screen, just as the film was showing an empty hallway in the haunted house it took place in. He let out a ghostly moan, and floated right out of the picture, appearing to fly towards the audience! A few girls screamed, as to them it appeared to be a very convincing 3-D movie effect. But Mudsy then swooped right down in front of the Reptilian Beast and began swirling and moaning around him.

The Reptilian let out a frightened screech and tossed the 3-D glasses off his face, but Mudsy was still in front of him, making silly faces and ghoulish laughter. Boo then popped out from behind Mudsy's hat and let out a scary-sounding yowl. With another terrified screech, the Reptilian Beast ran out of the dune buggy, leaving his popcorn and soda behind. He ran off to the left side of the lot, just as Mugsy and Boo disappeared once again.

"Here he comes," Fred said as he and Augie held something long and thin above their heads and the Reptilian Beast ran towards them. But just as the Beast got to the two teen boys, they quickly unfurled the net and caught the Reptilian Beast easily. "We did it!" Fred called out in triumph.

Other people in the drive-in started cheering from their cars, and then Shaggy and Scooby ran up to Fred and Augie and their capture, doffing their usher costumes. Daphne, Velma, April and Skip joined up with them as well.

"We caught the Reptilian Beast!" Augie exclaimed.

"And we all worked together!" Daphne added.

"It helps that Velma and I have seen _The Curse of the Monster_ last week," Skip added, "although not at this drive-in. So, I knew just the right spot for Mudsy to become part of the film!"

Benny and the ticket cashier ran over to see the commotion.

"Great job, kids," Benny said. "You caught that Reptilian Beast that was terrorizing our drive-in!"

"Only he's not really a Reptilian Beast," Velma said, as she moved some of the netting, so the Beast's head was poking out. Then she grabbed both sides of the Reptilian rubber mask and tugged it off with a wet slurp, revealing a man Velma and recognized. "Just as I thought," she said. "It's Mr. Soylo, the real-estate representative!"

"Mr. Soylo?!" Fred, Daphne, Shaggy and Benny all said in unison.

"We saw him walk out of the concession building this afternoon," Skip pointed out. "And that duffel bag with the clothes and business card we found…"

"…belonged to Mr. Soylo," Velma explained, "who used the storage room under the movie screen to change in and out of costume."

"I get it!" April realized. "He made up the 'Reptilian Beast' legend and monster to scare people out of the drive-in, so less and less people would go, and Benny would be convinced to sell!"

"That's right!" Velma exclaimed "We've uncovered a few similar real-estate plots over time."

"So have we," Augie pointed out.

"Phooey," Mr. Soylo said. "And I thought I was being original! But anyways, I thought the Moonview Drive-In Theater would be the perfect place for a new real-estate development. Drive-ins have been closing up across the country due to increasing insurance rates and property values, and they're only open during a select time of the year and during certain hours compared to indoor cinemas and their increasing popularity, so I thought it was an easy target! I mean, who still goes to drive-ins anyway?"

"Take a look," Fred said, gesturing to all the people still enjoying the movie in their cars. "Lots of people are here having a good time."

"Yes," Benny added. "My drive-in does pretty good business, and I'm able to make enough money to keep it running. It's something I enjoy doing."

"Like, we should come here more often!" Shaggy said. "I forgot how groovy drive-in theaters are, and not just the concessions!"

"Ryeah," Scooby agreed. "Roovy!"

"Likewise," Skip added. "It's even better than going to a regular movie theater!"

Mr. Soylo gave a nervous look to Benny and asked, "You're not going to call the cops, are you?"

"No," Benny said. "But I'm going to tell the agency you work with about what you did."

This made Mr. Soylo growl. He turned to the teens and their dogs and snarled, "Thanks a lot, you meddling kids, AND your dogs!"

"Don't forget our phantom," Augie added.

And of course, Mudsy and Boo appeared out of thin air. "Yes, it was my added-on role in the picture that helped his undoing, don't you know!"

"IT'S HIM!" Mr. Soylo freaked out. "That ghost!"

Benny gave a look of distraught. Then he put his hand to his forehead and moaned, "Oooh, I think I need to lie down. And you're coming with me, Mr. Soylo." He started dragging the crook back to his office. Then he turned to both mystery-solving gangs and said, "By the way, the drive-in is staying open."

The teens and Scooby all cheered. Boo even took the time to hug Elmo AND Scooby!

"Looks like he's warmed up to you, Scooby!" Mudsy exclaimed. "Likes you, even!"

…

Sometime later, the second movie in the double-feature was playing, a werewolf film of some kind. Mystery Inc. and the Funky Phantom crew were still enjoying the movie and the snacks in their vehicles, though Shaggy, Scooby-Doo, Elmo, Mudsy and Boo were sitting in-between both cars with their snacks and drinks (of course, Shaggy and Scooby still had a lot.)

"I gotta hand it to you, Fred," Skip said as he faced the Mystery Machine, "you sure have a great mystery-solving team."

"So do you," Fred told Skip. "Even if you have a real ghost as part of your team, he can be a big help, too!"

"Oh, pshaw," Mudsy said. "It was nothing. I'm just glad you guys are finally in the _spirit_ of things!"

Everyone had a good laugh at that joke, even Scooby.

"We've got to come here more often," Augie said. "Like I said, seeing a movie at the drive-in is quite an experience!"

"Likewise," Velma added.

Scooby stood up. "Rut we rust remember to remove the reakers refore we reave," Scooby said, gesturing to the speakers attached to their vehicles. Everyone laughed again, and Scooby grinned, said "Scooby-dooby-dooooooooo!" and snickered.

END


End file.
